MONICA AND I sat on the deck drinking mimosas.
“Aren’t you glad you took me up on the morning drinking?” she asked with a smile.
I nodded my head. “Yes I am.”
Monica glanced across the lake. “Have you seen him lately?”
“I don’t really want to talk about Cale.”
She snickered and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I sat back in my seat and sighed. “He’s everywhere. I swear. I go to the store and there he is. I go to the car wash, there he is. JJ’s to grab a burger and, bam! There. He. Is. And next to him, always, is Zoey.”
“Did I tell you that I ran into her at Mulligan’s a few weeks ago?” Monica said. “Jack told me that every time Cale leaves town, Zoey goes out, pregnant or not. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was screwing around on Cale.”
I looked at Monica, disgusted. “Oh God, don’t say that. She’s pregnant!”
My cell rang and Zoey’s name flashed on the screen. I knew I was her only friend, and it killed me to feel the way I did about her. I took a deep breath and answered.
“Hey, Zoey. How are you?”
Monica rolled her eyes as she picked up her phone and sent someone a text.
“Hello there, stranger,” Zoey said. “It sure would be nice to see you, especially since you live practically next door.”
Guilt ripped through my body. “I know. I’ve been so busy with traveling lately. I’m headed to Florence, Italy in the next few days.”
Zoey let out a pathetic sigh. “Jesus, it must be nice to jet off around the world like you do. I hate my life right now.”
My mouth dropped open and I hit the speaker button, signaling Monica to listen in. “Zoey, you’re pregnant. You should be reveling in this.”
“Really? You think so? I feel like shit, Cale doesn’t want to marry me at all, this baby is slowly killing me, and all of this bullshit just to—” Zoey cut herself off.
I sat there stunned. Monica didn’t flinch. It was like she wasn’t surprised at all.
“Just to what?” I asked. It was silent on the other end of the line. “Zoey? Are you okay?”
“I’m just tired. Cale had me up all night with one orgasm after another. God, he just never stops. I mean, do you know how hard it is to have sex with your belly swollen at seven months pregnant? On the kitchen island, because your boyfriend wants you now?”
I felt sick to my stomach. “No, I suppose I don’t.”
Zoey laughed. “Or course you wouldn’t. If Cale wasn’t such a good fuck, I swear I’d probably tell him that I need a break from sex.”
“Zoey, is there anything else you and Cale do other than have sex? I mean...can you not talk about anything but screwing?”
Zoey giggled. “Why, Maddie Powers! Are you jealous of my relationship with Cale? It’s too bad you can’t find someone like him.”
Monica stood up and was about to grab the phone, but I quickly picked it up and took it off speaker.
“Anywho, darling, my mother is coming for lunch today. I really need you here with me for support.”
I shook my head and laughed nervously. “You need me where?”
“Here, at the house. My mother and father will be here for lunch, and I can’t face them all alone. They just started talking to me again and I don’t want to ruin things. Please say you’ll come over for lunch.”
“Um…to Cale’s house?” I asked.
“No,” Zoey said. “To our house.”
I bit down on my lip as Monica asked over and over what was wrong.
“Uh, I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it.”
Then I heard her start crying. Aw, shit. Guilt raced through my body yet again.
“Don’t do it,” Monica said, pointing at me.
“Maddie, please! Please don’t abandon me. I feel so alone. All Cale wants is sex, my parents are treating me like I’ve sentenced myself to death…you’re all I have left.”
I rolled my eyes and dropped my head, defeated. “What time do you want me there?”
“Damn it, Maddie,” Monica said as she walked into the house.
“Oh, Maddie you’re the best! They’ll be here in a few hours. I’m getting more and more tired the further along I get. Can you come over soon and help me get ready?”
Cale must be out of town I thought. That’s why Zoey needs me there.
“Let me change really quick and I’ll be right over,” I said.
Zoey thanked me again and hung up. I slowly walked back into my house to face one very pissed-off Monica.
“Why do you let her do this to you?” she asked.
I shook my head and tried to push past her. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You let her torture you. You and Cale are the only fools who don’t see what she’s doing.” Monica grabbed my arm. “She’s playing you. She’s always been jealous of you, Maddie. And when she found out Cale’s name that day in Starbucks, she must have put two and two together. I mean come on—Cale isn’t a very common name. She planned all of this. Cale was going to leave her. Especially after Jack admitted he’d lied to you.”
I turned and looked at Monica. “What? When did Jack lie to me?”
“The day you went to his house. He wanted to hook up with you, so he lied and said Cale had a girlfriend. He didn’t, and Jack has felt like shit ever since. He told me that since that night, Cale has been stopping on the street, going up to girls to see if they were you. He never got over you. He told Jack he didn’t have any feelings for Zoey. He was leaving her. And that’s when she showed up and overheard them. Jack thinks she lied about the pregnancy, then got Cale to have unprotected sex so she could get pregnant.”
I started massaging my temples. “Monica, stop. This is all just nuts. No one goes through all that trouble, out of jealously, to upset someone. No one.” I turned to walk away but stopped and glanced back to Monica. “If Cale doesn’t want to be with her, why did he let her move into his house? Why are they always having sex? You don’t fuck someone you don’t care about. It’s just a strange coincidence. That’s all.”
Monica sighed. “You’re right. You don’t fuck someone you care about. You fuck someone to fuck them. She’s lying about how much sex they are having, Maddie. She’s lying about everything.”
“Monica, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Zoey can’t possibly be that evil.” My head was telling me one thing, but my heart was telling me another. I was beginning to think that maybe Zoey did plan this whole thing.